What does it mean to be a gendered individual in a Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or Sikh religious tradition? How important are gender differences in deciding social roles, ritual activities, and spiritual vocations? This course tackles these questions, showing how gender – how it is taught, performed, and regulated – is central to understanding religion. In this course we will learn about gendered rituals, social roles, and mythologies in a range of religious traditions. We will also look at the central significance of gender to the field of religious studies generally. The first part of the course will be focused on building a foundation of knowledge about a range of religious traditions and the role of gender in those traditions. This course emphasizes religious traditions outside the West. Although it is beyond the scope of this class to offer comprehensive discussions of any one religious tradition, the aim is to provide entry-points into the study of religious traditions through the lens of gender. This course will emphasize both historical perspectives and contemporary contexts. We will also read religion through feminist and queer lenses – we will explore the key characteristics of diverse feminist and queer studies approaches to religion, as well as limits of those approaches.

Foundational Approach

This course is appropriate for general education as well as part of introductory

Instructor's objectives

Foundations:
1) Recognize and understand religious studies terms.
2) Know concepts key to Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, & Sikhism.
3) Distinguish between facts and matters of debate and ambiguity.
Applying Knowledge:
1) Compare and contrast different approaches to gender across religious traditions.
2) Choose a research question and design a program of research.
3) Write a convincing academic research essay.
4) Apply religious studies principles to real case studies.
Learning to Learn:
1) Research to explore interesting issues on your own as a scholar.
2) Think like a religious studies scholar.

Methods of Assessment

Number and size of paper(s) assigned

Essay 1 (20%)
The essay will be 2,000 words (use the word-count feature – about 8 pages double-spaced). Essay guidance is laid out in the syllabus.

Essay 2 (20%)
The essay will be 3,000 words (about 12 pages double-spaced). There will be a choice of question and you may apply the essay to any one or more of the religious traditions covered in the course.

Number and type of exams

Exams (30%)
There will be two exams. The exams will involve definition of terms and short essay responses.
The mid-term exam is Thursday 18 October. (15%) The final exam date in December will be determined by the registrar. (15%)

Other Requirements

You will write short journal entries responding to a question relevant to the reading. The entries should be submitted on Canvas, and each should be around 250 words. (5 journal entries x 4% = 20%)

Cross Cultural Analysis

How does the course examine the social values, institutions, and patterns of organization of a culture from within its own perspective?

We look at primary and secondary sources written by religious practitioners who are Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish from a variety of national backgrounds. For instance, in each unit we read one theological text that interprets that religious tradition's relationship to gender, and discuss how it varies from the perspective of the secondary literature.

How does the course consider the relationships AMONG the following aspects of the culture(s) in question: art, religion, literature, philosophy, social behavior and institutions, and responses to other cultures?

We look at how religious texts inform artwork, literature, and social institutions. We also are concerned with the divergences between the above. For example, we start by reviewing information about Vedic texts in Hinduism, then we look at a variety of artwork the represents those texts in divergent ways; then we look at social institutions that fall within the category of Hindu without engaging with those texts at all. We grapple with the task of allowing for the full range of expression of Hindu religious traditions.

If the course focuses on a particular element in a culture, can you explain how it relates that element to other more general aspects?

We are in particular interested in the relationship (or lack of relationship) between text and ritual in this class. Rituals discussed include dress, ceremony, song, and dance. Texts discussed include religious texts and interpretive literature inspired by texts.

How does the course teach students the methods required for sensitive and critical cultural analysis, such as the informed reading of texts, artifacts, and social institutions?

We close read texts together, and writing assignments require them to do close readings of those texts. We look at artwork to analyze the components of that artwork together, and class conversation allows them to practice critical analysis of new images together. I give feedback in the form of written feedback and oral feedback about the nuance of their analysis, to contribute to their training in sensitive and critical cultural analysis. We read articles about controversies relevant to contemporary social institutions that are relevant to gender and religion, and through writing assignments they are required to interpret their behavior. I give them feedback on this analysis in writing and orally in class to model appropriate critical thinking

Cultural Diversity in the US

The course should examine one or more of the following forms of differentiation: race/ethnicity, immigrant status, social class, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation. Which does it emphasize?

The course may emphasize a comparative perspective within a particular classification scheme (for example, African Americans and Hispanics). If so, please describe:

The course may examine the intersection between two or more of these means of differentiation (for example, race and immigrant status, minority status and sexual orientation). If so, please describe:

The course should address issues of inequality, stratification, and power. Please explain how it does so.

What is the primary method of analysis for the course? (For example, analysis of social scientific data, critical reading of literature, and so forth.)

Quantitative Data Analysis

Prerequisites

Who is the course intended for?

Sample assignments or exam questions.

Do students actively analyze and interpret quantitative data? Explain.

Do students interpret quantitative data to evaluate hypotheses and/or to understand phenomena in the real world? Explain.

What types of quantitative analyses are included in the course? For example, do students learn concepts of random variability and elementary level of statistical analysis of data?

Formal Reasoning

Do students learn formal structures of thought and how to apply them to understand phenomena in the real world? Explain.

If the course also engages students in the statistical analysis of empirical data, is the preponderance of attention give to formal structures implicated in deductive reasoning rather than on inductive reasoning from data to empirical generalizations? Explain.

Types of Analysis: What types of formal analysis are included in the course? For example, do students learn concepts of mathematics, formal logic, formal linguistics, computation and algorithmic thinking, decision theory, or some combination of these?